• Question of the Week: What’s the Worst Warning Noise You’ve Ever Heard?—WINNER’S UPDATE You Should Know

    Byjustpastevehicles

    WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
    We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our victor will accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store and the acclaim of their peers.
    This week, we asked: What’s the worst warning noise you’ve ever heard?
    Thanks to everyone who participated. Many of your nominations involved a number of cacophonous sounds following a disaster, and these certainly harkened back to last year’s spooky season QotW: scariest noise your car has ever made.
    Warning buzzers from the 1970s and 1980s were quite popular in this week’s comment thread. Amid safety regulations, the unruly noises proliferated in American automobiles during the 1970s, and BaT member @CrownRegal told us a funny story about a 1973 Buick LeSabre that tried to warn him when it was already too late:
    My first car in high school was a 1973 Buick LeSabre.

  • Understanding yesterday’s comments of note

    Byjustpastevehicles

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “This has it all- right year, right transmission, killer color.”

    15

    ShirtPants commented on 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4×4 5-Speed

    “Crank windows, crank sunroof, 100 hp, period correct BBS wheels and Recaro seats, original color. Super cool.”

    13

    SFMor911 commented on No Reserve: 1983 BMW 320i 5-Speed

    “I’m a Datsun fan (B210 and my BaT 510) and have never seen one of these ever except in my trusty 1977 Datsun model line sales brochure. The rarity of this F-10 WAGON is indescribable.”

    11

    HeavyTank77 commented on No Reserve: 1977 Datsun F-10 Sportwagon 4-Speed

  • Yesterday’s comments of note — Explained

    Byjustpastevehicles

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “5th gen funeral director here….im betting I could write this off.”

    64

    spf8298 commented on “The Munsters” Drag-U-La Re-Creation

    “Hands down, the best BAT cover photo, EVER! If that image doesn’t generate clicks to the page, nothing will.”

    13

    Ntique-lover commented on No Reserve: Pastranaland Experience w/Travis Pastrana for 43 Institute

    “Fun memories of seeing this bike in Rob’s shop. We used to do a “garage tour” on British bikes in San Diego. Rob would bring us into his crazy workshop which included a land speed record “bike” built around a Delta jet turbine engine. He loved this Rudge. These have high quality engineering for their time and currently have decent parts availability through UK owner’s club. Thanks for bringing to BaT!”

    7

    C.Flint commented on 1937 Rudge Special

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    Understanding the Bring a Trailer Sunset Trucker Hat is Back!

    Byjustpastevehicles

    We honor the classics every day here on BaT, and today we’re reprising one of our own classics in the BaT Gear Store—The Bring a Trailer Sunset Trucker Hat. The original sunset graphic is around 10 years old—it’s basically the California black plate of BaT gear. In recent years, we’ve received many requests to bring it back, and we are nothing if not responsive to the BaT community. So here it is!

  • What to Know About yesterday’s comments of note

    Byjustpastevehicles

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “@KD303
    Thanks for chiming in. When a stand-out car like this one is sold, then disappears into a collection, or resold several times the “Freude Am Fahren” or in other words, the magic it possesses cannot be spread to another enthusiast –or more importantly — to the next generation who will (hopefully) and enthusiastically carry on. These are things that keep me awake at night.
    Given the low mileage — hardly more than break-in miles — covered over the past nine years, I was…”

    20

    Delia_Wolfe commented on 1973 BMW 2002tii

    “I’m a Poncho guy and have owned many over the past decade. I presently have three, in my collection. 1960 was an oddity for the Pontiac division, it was in between the split grill of 59 and 61. It was also the first year of the eight lug wheels. That said, I remember my Dad and his buddies coming home from a fishing trip in a 1960 Bonneville coupe. The trunk was full of fish and ice. Look at the size of the trunk, you could only imagine, how many fish there were. Thanks for the memories and…”

    10

    ssclassic commented on 1960 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe 389

    “Going to the Eagles Mere Air, Auto, and Motorcycle Museum and for limited annual fresh water use along with the Garwoods.”

    7

    JennyOXX6 commented on No Reserve: 221 Flathead-Powered 1940 Boyce & Sons 16′ Hydroplane

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    What to Know About the One-Year Garage: 1960

    Byjustpastevehicles

    This episode sees Alex, Randy and Cam choosing the best of the transitory period between the late ’50s and mid ’60s. They set the stage with politics, American optimism, and the top film, music and motorsports events of the year before picking their favorites in the Sports Car, Truck/4×4, Family Hauler, Daily Driver, and Wild Card categories.

  • A Look at yesterday’s comments of note

    Byjustpastevehicles

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “The original owner of this car was a friend of mine and I can vouch that this car is everything it is claimed to be. John was a lifetime “collector” and over the years he bought a number of brand new vehicles, drove them home from the dealer, and never drove them again. For him, it was all about “having”. When he was a youngster in the 70’s and 80’s, he was well known in Studebaker circles for his cross-country road trips in his fleet Studebaker Diesel trucks.
    One very minor correction..…”

    61

    mbstude commented on 44-Mile 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Special Edition WS6 4-speed

    “The 2UR is one of the best sounding V8s ever.”

    11

    FiveCylinder commented on 2,900-Mile 2023 Lexus LC500 Convertible

    “In a world of SUVs and crossovers it is refreshing to see a wagon. Especially one with a manual transmission. GLWTA!”

    8

    70_duster commented on 2007 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T Quattro 6-Speed

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    Period Road Test: Road & Track on the “Highest Performing” Pontiac, April 1986 You Should Know

    Byjustpastevehicles

    “Like Rick in Casablanca, who arrived to take the waters and learned there were none, we showed up to test a new Pontiac and found we’d been misled.”

    -Peter Egan, Road & Track Senior Editor

    With the Fools’ Day upon us, we high-tailed it to the archives to resurface one of Road & Track’s delightful gag road tests, this time from the April 1986 issue on the subject of the Pontiac O-77 Excitement—written by vehicular polymath Peter Egan, accompanied by R&T‘s ever-astute Engineering Editor Dennis Simanaitis, and complemented by wonderful photography from none other than Jeff Zwart.

    Click above to open the article in a full-window viewer, or hit the “share” arrow to download the PDF. Individual pages can be viewed in the gallery below.
    Many automakers have made things other than cars: Peugeot cranks out pepper mills, Bugatti built trains, Buick gave the US Army the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, and Toyota manufactures prefabricated homes in Japan. But despite the Pontiac branding, the hot air balloon tested by Road & Track wasn’t built by the boys on Baldwin Avenue. Instead, it was built by an outfit based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who constructed their craft under license from Cameron Balloons in the UK.

  • Celebrating 4/02 with Chevy’s Secret Big Block You Should Know

    Byjustpastevehicles

    Today is 4/02, and we’re kicking off our perennial set of April big block features with GM’s 402ci V8—the mill of unofficial displacement hidden in plain sight during the early 1970s. The number never appeared on a badge, instead existing as the 400 for pickups and larger Chevy models, and disguised as the 396 for most performance applications. Its presence has perplexed even those with a longstanding allegiance to the Bowtie brand, and while we won’t be able to fully untangle legend from fact here, we can at least talk a little bit about the 402 and how it came to be.

  • Understanding yesterday’s comments of note

    Byjustpastevehicles

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “I daily drove a very similar example for about a year and 13,000 miles – same year, 6 speed, RWD, ZSP, no nav.
    I still think about it ALL the time. Out of the 20+ BMWs I’ve owned (including *four other E91s*, that one was one of my favorites and by far my favorite E91.
    IMO, the miles aren’t that scary. Do the clutch/flywheel, but you shouldn’t have any other notable issues otherwise. A 3 stage manifold would be a nice add-on as well. This car is also pretty close to a stripper spec…”

    10

    ekimp commented on No Reserve: 2007 BMW 328i Sports Wagon 6-Speed

    “I had a ’68 for almost 20 years. I personally feel that the early SWB is the loveliest iteration of the 911, ever: cleanest lines, sublime, reductive design. 1968 has a bunch of “year-only” features that make it extra cool. Good luck to whoever wins this beauty and whatever you do afterwards, update this car to carrera chain tensioners immediately. It’s an easy upgrade and will save your engine when the original tensioners fail, which they definitely will. Awesome car!”

    9

    blkdgbreton commented on 1968 Porsche 911L Coupe 5-Speed

    “Agree with @NVGT350. A Marti Report would be great to see how rare this spec actually is – a loaded GT ‘vert with power everything, leather, 3.08 (Z) axle, leather, premium stereo w/EQ, but no factory A/C. A very neat Fox body time capsule here. GLWA!”

    12

    Z282SLO commented on 4,400-Mile 1987 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Convertible 5-Speed